Finding Family, Finding Love
by greendayjewels86
Summary: Waverly Montgomery is finally figuring out what she wants in her life. Her mother has told her a secret she's been keeping for years. Will Waverly be able to continue to follow her dreams or will she stay close to home? Rewrite of original story I wrote.
1. Chapter 1

Finding Family Finding Love

Chapter One

Waverly Montgomery rolled over onto her back while asleep in her bed. Her rose blonde hair was the only thing visible above her comforter. A few minutes later the alarm went off.

~What time is it? ~ She thought as she opened her light steel blue eyes. Pulling back the blankets she looked at the clock. ~Uugghh….it's only 6:45, I need more sleep….of course if I didn't stay up half the night I would get more sleep. ~ She berated herself mentally for a few more minutes before sighing in defeat.

Knowing that she would never be able to fall back asleep she sat up slowly, stretching and yawning, She looked out her window at the New York City street that she lived on and smiled at the skyline. ~Love this city. ~ Quietly she stood up from her bed headed for the bathroom for some relief. After exiting the bathroom she headed to her closet and pulled on a t-shirt over her tank top that she slept in she shuffled quietly out of the room. Walking down the hall toward the living room slash kitchen she heard voices and they sounded like they were arguing, very early in the morning. As she got closer she recognized the voices and those of her mother and boyfriend, Mac Taylor, a detective and CSI with the NYPD. The two had been dating for about three years now and Waverly was more than happy for her mother, Linda. She didn't know what the two were arguing about but she didn't want to make things awkward by just walking into the kitchen while they were mid-argument. Against her better judgement, especially for someone her age, she stopped, leaned on the wall and eavesdropped.

~Mom is going to kill me if she catches me doing this…then again it is human nature to be curious. ~ Waverly thought to herself with an inward snicker.

"She deserves to know, Linda, Waverly is going to be 21 in few days. She's an adult. You need to tell her. I know you were doing what you thought was right but now it should be her decision." Mac said to her with a determined look. Linda sighed.

"It's not that easy, Mac. What am I supposed to say to her? 'Hey honey, you know all those times that you asked about your father? Why he wasn't around? Well, honey I always knew who he was and where he is; I just never told him about you because I was selfish and scared.' Yeah that would go over really well, Mac. She will never forgive me." Her mother whispered back fiercely.

Waverly stayed there leaning against the wall stunned. ~My father never knew about me? How could mom keep this a secret from me all these years? ~

"She is not going to hate you. She may be angry yes, but she will not hate you. She loves you and you thought you were doing the right thing at the time. You know that he is down in Miami, he runs the Crime Lab down there. I didn't tell you at the time because I wasn't sure, but he was up here on a case a few months ago. He's a good man, probably the same as when you knew him, he cares about people. If you don't want to tell him at least tell Waverly and explain your reasoning. Let her make the decision. It will be her choice." Mac sighed, "Look I have to head to work, just promise me that you will think about it. You know that Waverly applied for colleges down there, Miami University included." Silenced reigned for a moment before Mac spoke again. "I love you, I'll see you tonight."

Waverly pushed herself off the wall and started heading back to her room, trying to comprehend everything she had just heard. ~They say curiosity killed the cat. ~ She thought to herself. She sighed as she reached her bedroom and shut the door. ~At least I don't have to be angry with him anymore or blame him for not caring enough about me. Do I want to know him? Maybe I should just own up to my eavesdropping and let mom know I heard. It would take some of the pressure off…..I should be angry with her….well, I am a little bit, but I'm also old enough to somewhat understand. I need to really think about this. ~ She sat down in front of her desk and switched her laptop on, while reaching into the top right drawer grabbing a folder. Opening the folder she took out a few pieces of paper. Looking at both of them she sighed.

_**Your application to New York University has been accepted…**_

_**Your application to Miami University has been accepted…**_

_**Your application to UCLA has been accepted…**_

There were a few more acceptance letters but she didn't look at them only the top three. All were miles apart from each other. One she could stay at home, one she could meet her father and go to school, the last one she could just run away from it all, burying her head in the sand.

~What to do….What to do? ~ Waverly sighed and looked at the applications once more before putting UCLA's acceptance back into the folder. She had yet to tell anyone that she had been accepted to any of the schools she had finally applied for.

Linda sat down at the kitchen table after Mac left sighing; she began to think about what he had said. ~Mac's right, Waverly deserves to know the truth, but how do I tell her? Ugh…. To be able to do it all over again would be great, if only I knew then what I know now. Hopefully my little angel will forgive me for keeping this such a secret. ~

She got up quietly and walked slowly down the hall to her daughters' room. Stopping she took a deep breath before she knocked, not receiving an answer, she quietly opened the door. She quickly spotted Waverly sitting quietly at her desk staring at a piece of paper.

"Waverly… sweetie, we need to talk." She said with a slight tremor in her voice.

Waverly took a deep breath before she answered her mother. "I know mom."

"You know?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overhear you and Mac this morning. I was coming to the kitchen when I heard you guys semi arguing." She sighed, "I have something to tell you as well."

"We weren't arguing…" Linda protested, as Waverly's eyebrows rose slightly. "Okay, we were slightly."

Waverly smiled, "Sooo…my father lives in Miami?"

Linda knew what Waverly was trying to do. She was trying to make it a little easier on her to get things started. "Why don't I tell you some about your father over breakfast?" She said patting her daughter on her knee.

"Okay, Mom. Let's talk about my father and then I'll tell you what I need to tell you." ~I just hope you won't be mad at me for keeping this small secret. ~

They both got up and walked back in the kitchen. Linda began getting eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator as Waverly grabbed the pans and the bread out of cabinet. Linda sighed and started talking.

"I met your father while I was in college. I started college later like you and he was a Detective with the NYPD. We went out for a long while and we became close. In 1995 he was injured in the line of duty, after that he decided that New York wasn't where he wanted to be. He moved down to Florida not to long after that, effectively ending our relationship. I understood but it didn't change the fact that I was hurt. After he left I found out I was pregnant with you. I should have told you all of this sooner but I chickened out. In the end I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Why didn't you ever tell him?" Waverly asked as she watched her mother, while putting the bread in the toaster.

"I was young, stupid, and scared. I didn't know exactly how he would react. He was a good man but we weren't exactly a forever couple. We wanted different things. He wanted to leave New York and I couldn't leave. I had school and I just love this city to much, it's my home. New York only holds mostly bad memories for him I suppose. Now that I'm older I understand that." Linda continued as she stirred the eggs.

A bit later the women were eating breakfast together when Waverly sighed, "Mom, I've been keeping something from you. It's not bad; it's actually a good thing. The only problem is I don't know what I should do about it."

"Whatever it is honey, we'll work through it." Linda stated trying to think of all the possible things that her daughter could be keeping from her. Not all of them good.

"I promise it's not bad it's just a big, no huge, decision and I want your input." Waverly said as she brought the folder she had been looking at earlier onto the table. Opening it she revealed two papers. "These are acceptance letters. I had three but I decided already on one I didn't want to go to."

Linda grabbed to papers and looked at them, as she read both a smile formed on her face. "Oh, Honey this is fantastic. I knew that you could do it."

Waverly smiled lightly at her mother, "Mom it's a huge decision. One I could stay here, the other I would be leaving going to a place where I don't know anyone." She took a deep breath, "Of course if I stayed here, I would be here with you, Mac, Danny, Stella, Lindsey, Adam and Don. I don't know if I can leave you guys. On the other side, if I chose University of Miami then I will have the possibility of meeting my father, who you still haven't told me his name, but other than that I wouldn't know anyone."

"Horiatio Caine is his name, but honey you cannot base your decision on me, your father, or anyone else. It needs to be what you want and I will always support you no matter what you decide. Now, I will give you my opinion, you should think long and hard about this, but I think maybe you should go to Miami. You've never really been out of New York and you've always wanted to travel. Also you _would_ be able to meet your father. He lives in Miami and runs the Crime Lab down there according to Mac. He was apparently up here a few months ago on a case. I had no idea and Mac wasn't sure if he should say anything, said it wasn't his place to speak of it." Linda took a breath before grabbing her daughter's hand, "I know that you have something else that is keeping you from ultimately making the decision. You haven't said anything to me but I'm your mother and I can tell, Don, is the reason you're not completely sure."

"What? MOM," Waverly tried to protest while blushing. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Linda laughed quietly at the look on Waverly's face. "Honey, I'm your mother, I can tell when my little girl has a crush on the handsome detective, and to be fair I think that Don is interested but won't do anything because of your age, and the fact you have your life to figure out. I know that Don is your first real crush but I want you to think about what you want out of your life. Do you want to stay here for school because of something that may never be or take a chance and go somewhere different, make new friends and meet family you never knew you had?"

"Why do you have to make so much sense? I hate that you know…..that you're always right. Ugh." Waverly moaned a bit as she stood up with her plate and put it in the sink, she sighed before nodding a little to herself. "I'm going to my room to think on this a bit more."

Linda watched as Waverly disappeared down the hall, she heard the door closed and she let out a breath. ~Well that went better than expected. ~

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Waverly sighed loudly as she fell on her bed and looked up at her ceiling. ~Well, shit. I don't know why I'm still thinking about this. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to Miami. Number one: it's a great school. Number two: I get to meet my father, whom I've always wanted to meet. Ugh, I'm calling Ashlee. ~

She picked up her cellphone and dialed a few minutes later it was picked up.

"Hey girl, what's going on?" Ashlee's cheery voice came over the line.

"Well, I've got two things. First I got accepted to Miami U and NYU. Second I found out who my bio father is." Waverly rushed out with a soft sigh at the end.

"WHAT?" Waverly had to pull her phone away from her ear due to Ashlee's loud mouth. "You found out who your father is? Your moms finally say something?"

"That's all you got out of that was just my father?" She asked.

"Of course not I knew you get into both you're to smart not too. I'm much more interested in the father thing though." Waverly just rolled her eyes at her friend.

"I overheard Mac and mom semi arguing this morning about it, and I asked her. She told me over breakfast."

"So what does he do?"

"He works and runs the crime lab in Miami-Dade." Waverly said.

"Yeah and she told me about how they met and why she never told him. But I'll tell you more about that later. I'm seriously thinking of going to Miami U. I agree with my mom that I can't let anything or anyone person keep me from living my dreams. I've always wanted to go to Miami U and I've always wanted to meet my father. Ugh… I was completely overthinking everything. If I meet him and him and he wants nothing to do with me, it's his loss. I'll still have school and my science geekiness to fall back on." Ashlee just laughed at her friend.

"So glad I could help you figure that out." Waverly smiled to herself. "You know that I always need to talk it out, out loud. Thanks sweets. I'm going to let you go so I can tell my mom my decision and contact the University and see what I need to do."

After they hung up Waverly looked at the clock, hours had gone by and it was close to noon. She got up and walked out to the kitchen and was surprised to see that Mac had been able to make it home for lunch, which was rare in itself. Her mom and Mac were talking quietly to each other. Waverly wondered if it was about this morning. Taking a deep breath she announced her presence in the room. "I've made a decision."

"Already? That was quick." Linda replied eyebrows raised. Mac just looked between the two women in his life.

"Yeah, I called Ashlee; she let me talk it out."

"So what have you decided?" Linda asked taking Mac hand.

"I've decided to go to Miami U. You and I both know that I've always wanted to go there. I have another reason to go but school is most important. I love you and I love you too, Mac, but I have to do this for me. I want to meet Horatio and go to school, try new things, and meet new people. Summer is over in three weeks so I have to get things figured out, like where in the hell I'm going to live. Oh, where am I going to live and how can I find a place in just three weeks?" Waverly started to rant panicking slightly only stopping when Mac chuckled quietly.

"Don't worry about that W I've got a few connections down there. I can help you find a place fairly quickly." He was cut off by Waverly giving him a tight hug.

"Thanks Mac, you're the best." Mac used to her hugging him randomly gave a slight squeeze back.

"You're welcome, W." Waverly squealed pulling away.

"Is it too early to start packing?" as she started walking down the hallway back to her room.

"I think its fine to start, just don't pack everything you still have a little time. " Linda replied with a smile as she disappeared.

"She's excited about this; I haven't seen her, this excited since you told her she could go to the lab with you for the first time." Linda said squeezing Macs' hand.

"Yeah, it's great to see. The team isn't going to like seeing her leave." Mac replied as he stood up. "I'm going to head back and I'll let the team know about what she's doing. She will forget in all the excitement." ~Don certainly won't like this. ~ Mac thought as he opened the door. "Love you, Linda."

"Love you, Mac." Linda replied as he left. ~ Don isn't going to be too happy, but he will be for her. I hope. ~


	2. Chapter 2

Finding Family, Finding Love

Chapter Two

Two days later Waverly woke up to her 21st birthday. Normally she didn't care too much about birthdays but you only turned 21 once. She smiled to herself as she stretched and sat up looking around, she had boxes scattered here and there with a few items in each box. She was taking her time packing her stuff, she still had about a week and a half before she was actually moving, and that way she would have some time to settle in before she had to start classes.

While Waverly was excited to be leaving and going to school, meeting her father, and genuinely doing something she always wanted to do she was a bit sad. Not everyone was completely happy about her leaving but that was to be expected. She couldn't make everyone happy. She thought about the other day when she went to the lab with Mac to hang out and see everyone.

_~Danny was his usual self, goofy and fun. Lindsey was off that day so she didn't get to see her but Stella was there and she got to talk to _her _for a bit. The one that wasn't there, whom she really wanted to see, was Don. He seemed to be avoiding her since Mac's announcement of her acceptance to Miami University. _

_She had barely gotten a foot off the elevator with Mac when she was being picked up and twirled around. At first she didn't know who it was until she smelled his cologne. _

"_Danny! You ogre put me down!" Waverly said while lightly smacking his back and laughing. "People are starting to stare!" Danny finally put her down._

"_Hey W! Missed you around here, haven't seen you for a little while. What have you been up to besides getting accepted into colleges far from here?"_

"_Packing, Danny. Mac has been helping me find a place down in Miami. So with him helping me you guys know that it will be the safest building ever. It will probably have bars on the windows." Waverly replied with a laugh, Danny snickered and Mac rolled his eyes walking to his office._

"_So Danny have you seen Don?" Waverly asked quietly. Danny's grin faded a little bit at her question._

"_Yeah, you just missed him, W." Danny looked apologetic as he looked at her. Her smile fell._

"_He's avoiding me." She stated. Danny could hear the hurt in her voice. He had told Don that avoiding Waverly wasn't going to go over to well, but Don wouldn't listen._

_Waverly could see that Danny wanted to defend his friend but didn't know quite what to say to her. "It's okay Danny. I'll be fine. Just tell him that I miss him okay, and you might throw in that I think he's an idiot. It's not like I'm moving to Africa. I'll be home to visit. I would like to spend some time with my friend before I leave is all."_

_She had to stop talking before she cried; she was really hurt with the way Don was behaving. She'd had a crush on Don for years but knew nothing could come of it since she was so young. Eventually while still having the crush she was able to maintain a great friendship with Don. If he was interested in her after she was legal that was all on him. He should have made it known, but with the way he was acting, and they weren't dating even, she was kind of glad they weren't together it would only be worse. Danny's voice brought her to back to the situation at hand. _

"_I'll tell him, W, promise." Danny smiled softly. He had seen when the crush started and had teased Don at first but after a while it was cute to watch. Now, it wasn't as cute, not when both of his friends were hurting each other. _

"_Thanks Danny. I'm going to go say Hi to Stella and Adam. Is Sheldon around?"_

"_Okay, no Sheldon's off today." He replied getting on the elevator _

"_Bye Danny I'll see you later." Waverly hugged him quickly before the elevator doors closed._

Waverly was still sad about Don but she could only do so much. She had Danny talk to him and she had even called him multiple times. Unfortunately for her she couldn't spend all her time focusing on getting Don to talk to her.

Mac had in fact helped her get an apartment, it was in a nice neighborhood about a block or two from the university, so if she wanted to could walk to class. She was worried about rent for the apartment but Mac apparently had that covered. He wouldn't tell her though. When Waverly had told Ashlee about the apartment she mentioned roommates. She was unsure how she should go about doing that. She didn't want to live with a complete stranger but she couldn't live by herself even if the rent was taken care of for a while. Ashlee surprised her though by telling her that she had also been accepted to Miami U and was going to be moving with her, so roommate taken care of.

She had her plane tickets bought and ready to go. The closer it got to leaving, the more excited and slightly nervous she became. This would be her first solo journey, yes Ashlee would be with her, but she wouldn't have her mom to fall back on, even if she was only a phone call away. At first Waverly wasn't going to have a party for her birthday but Danny had talked her into it. She needed to spend as much time with her friends as possible considering she didn't know exactly how soon she would be able to come home for a visit.

The day seemed to drag by for Waverly. The party didn't start until about 6 and hopefully everyone would be able to be there. She was currently in the living room sitting on the couch while her mother decorated. She wasn't allowed to help. Staring at her phone she contemplated trying to call Don again. She had already invited him once, quickly she dialed his number and it rang a few times before going to voicemail. She sighed before speaking; even she could hear the hurt in her own voice as she spoke.

"Hey Don, It's Waverly again. I just wanted to remind you my birthday party was tonight at 6. I hope you can make it, I would really like to see you." She let out a little sniffle before hanging up. She looked up at her mom, who had a sympathetic look on her face.

"Still not talking to you, honey?"

"No, it's getting annoying really, it hurts. He's supposed to be my friend and on top of that he older, one would think that would make him more mature but I guess not." Waverly threw her hands up in disgust almost throwing her phone, as her mother snickered.

"Honey, he's a man. Sometimes I think stupidity is in their DNA." Waverly gave a watery smile

"Mom, would you please let me help. I'm getting bored out of my mind." She asked knowing her mother would likely deny her request.

"No, honey you're not helping decorate, why don't you call Ashlee if you're so bored." Her mother replied.

"Ugh…I can't. She told that until she shows up for the party she is not going to talk to me. Something about a gift for something like that." She sighed, "Everyone else is at work slaving away or ignoring me."

Linda laughed, "Honey, you only have about an hour until everyone gets here. Are you still excited about going to Miami?"

"You know I am mom. I get to study forensics and chemistry. I never realized how much I like both until Mac took me to the lab and I got to see everything they do. I'm also kind of scared. I'm going to be on my own for the first time ever and then there's meeting Horatio. How do I do that? I can't just walk up to the man and say 'Hey, what's up? I'm your kid. Take care of me.' It kind of freaks me out, after all this time I can finally meet him and I have no idea what to say or how to act."

Linda came and sat down by her daughter. "That's a natural feeling for anyone, darling. You're going to be on your own, for the first time, like you said. About your father….you have never known him, and that's my fault." Linda put her hand up as Waverly began to protest. "It is, no matter how much you protest. In a sense he is a stranger that you are inviting into your life. But I want you to trust me when I say that Horatio Caine is a wonderful man. You can trust him no matter what."

"Okay mom, I trust your judgement. I mean after all you're with Mac. I want you to know that if Mac ever proposes you have my full support. That man is so good to you. You love him. He loves you and I love him for loving you like he does." Waverly smiled giving her mom a hug.

Moment later they heard the apartment door open, footsteps and then someone was yelling, "HEY! Where's the birthday girl!"

"I think she's in the living room." Waverly yelled, letting go over her mom.

Danny and Lindsay revealed themselves with little Lucy in tow a few moments later. "There she is." Danny said as he grabbed Waverly and twirled her around to the amusement of his wife and daughter.

"Put me down you idiot. I'm getting dizzy." Waverly laughed.

"Happy Birthday! baby girl." Danny said kissing her on the forehead as he let go of her.

"Thanks, Danny", she replied kissing him on the cheek. She then turned her attention to Lindsay giving her a hug.

"Happy Birthday", Lindsay said returning the hug and handing her a small gift.

"Aww, Thank you," Waverly gently sat the present on the coffee table and picked up Lucy.

"How is my Lucy Lu?" She asked causing the girl to giggle.

"She won't let anyone else call her that. Danny tried once and she threw a fit and said he couldn't call her that. It's your name for her and no one else's." Lindsay said smiling at the pair.

For a while the four adults sat around talking, and occasionally playing with Lucy, about work and her choice of schools. Everyone slowly started arriving Mac and Stella, Sheldon, Sid, and Adam. Surprisingly Reed, Mac's son showed up as well. The loudest of them all would have to have been her best friend Ashlee Marsh.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY," she yelled as she walked through the apartment door, ignoring everyone in favor of Waverly.

"Thanks, Ash. No need to be so loud." Waverly said laughing.

"Pfffttt, technicalities." Ashlee said with a wave of her hand and a smile.

Waverly just gave her a look turning her attention to the rest of the group, giving hugs and kisses to everyone. "Hey guys, thanks for coming."

"Of course we came; we wanted to come, sweetie. It's not every day that you turn 21 years old." Stella said giving her another hug. Although Waverly didn't show it, she was disappointed. Don hadn't shown up, at least not yet.

A few hours later the food was eaten, presents were opened and good times were enjoyed, Don still hadn't shown up. After the last bit of food was eaten everyone slowly left with thank yous and hugs and kisses. Once everyone was gone it was just Waverly, her mom, Mac and Ashlee. Waverly helped her mom clean up the small mess and excused herself for a moment.

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Linda watched a sadly as Waverly went out to their small balcony. Sighing she looked over at Mac who was watching her daughter as well, Ashlee had fallen into a slumber on the couch.

"Is Don working tonight Mac?" Linda asked

"Not to my knowledge, he is not." Mac replied.

"She has been looking forward to this party all week, but it has been slightly overshadowed by the fact that Don won't talk to her since you announced to them that she was going to Miami." Linda said sadly, "I know she has a crush on him but he's also one of her best friends. She never let that crush get in the way of their friendship and now he's ruining it. I'm really starting to believe what I told her that stupidity is in the male DNA."

Mac chuckled at that statement. "It's never been scientifically proven, but it could be true. I think Don finally realized how he felt and now it may be too late to do anything about it."

"That may be true Mac but he's hurting my baby and I don't like it." Linda said as Mac brought his arms up around her.

"I know, Linda, I know." Mac sighed. ~Don is going to lose that girl if he hasn't already lost her.

About 1030 Ashlee headed on home and Linda headed to bed. Waverly was still on the balcony so Mac stayed in the living room waiting to see if Waverly would want to talk. He heard a sniffle from the balcony and almost went out to see if she was alright before he thought of something better. He picked up his phone and dialed.

"Flack," was the answer a few minutes later.

"Don, where are you?" Mac asked

"Home, why?" Don answered with a sigh. ~I already know why you're calling Mac. ~

He heard Mac sigh on the other end. "I was really hoping you would say work. That way I could tell Waverly that you actually wanted to be at her party and that you weren't actually hiding like a 16 year old boy." Don started to protest. "Don, do you know what she's doing right now? She is on the balcony crying because one of her best friends didn't deem her worthy enough to show up at her party for even a few minutes. So I suggest that you suck up whatever hurt feelings you may think you have and get over here now and talk to her. Don't make me come get you, Don." Mac said before hanging up.

Don sighed to himself. He pushed himself off of his couch, knowing if he didn't go over to the Montgomery's apartment Mac would come and get him and make him go over there. He felt guilty for the way he had been acting but Mac's announcement a few days before had made him realize a few things, one he was an idiot and two he was going to lose Waverly, whether he wanted to or not.

Twenty minutes late Don found himself knocking on the apartment door. Two seconds later Mac opened with a stern look and a nod.

"She's still out on the balcony." Was the only thing he said. Don nodded and headed in the direction the balcony was. Mac headed into the bedroom with Linda leaving Don to work it out with Waverly on his own.

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Waverly sniffled once more. ~Ugh…..I can't believe I'm crying over Don. Nothing is going to come out of this. ~ She sighed mentally. ~ At this moment I just want my friend here. After this past week I'm over this crush. ~ She was brought back to the present by a throat being cleared.

She turned and was surprised to see Don standing there with a small frown etched across his face as his eyes looked over her face. She hastily turned around and wiped the tears still on her face. She cleared her throat.

"Don" She heard him sigh at his name.

"I'm sorry." He said in a small voice that she had never heard from him before. She turned and looked at him.

"For what? For being an ass and ignoring me all week? Ignoring my phone calls. I thought I was your friend at the very least. Guess I thought wrong." Don could hear in her voice how much he'd been hurting her especially the last few days, today of all days.

"I have been an ass, and none of that is your fault, it's mine."

"I know it is. I haven't done anything wrong. It's not my fault that it took Mac announcing that I'm leaving for college for you to get your head out of your ass. I'm not stupid you know. I also know that you're neither blind nor stupid either." Waverly took a deep breath; Don knew where she was going with this. "I know that you knew that I liked you and I get that I was definitely too young. The sad part is Don is that I have had a crush on you since I was 16 years old. The other sad part is that all of this as stupid as it is has helped me get over my crush of you. You've had four years to figure out what you wanted but you couldn't even do that. I waited; I didn't date anyone you know."

He knew he should have told her sooner. ~Damn it…Danny told me. I should have listened….now I've lost her before I ever had her. ~ He looked at Waverly, he had always known she was a beautiful girl; it was hard not to notice her beauty. The light steel blue eyes that seemed to pierce you when she looked at you, with her long wavy rose blonde hair. She was tiny especially compared to him. His 6' frame almost engulfed her 5' 2" frame whenever they hugged. "I know, Wave. I'm sorry. It shouldn't have taken me this long to figure my shit out. You're too good for me, you always have been."

At her snort he stopped talking, "What?"

"Isn't up to me to decide who's good enough for me or not?" He sighed at her reply. "Sorry Don. I'm not really making this easy, but you hurt me. Even though we aren't together you're still my best friend and you always will be. Mac told everyone I was going to Miami for University and I am, but I also have another reason to go. My mother told me who my biological father is." She laughed sarcastically. "It's funny you've met him before I even knew who he was."

At this Don was confused he had never been to Miami. He couldn't think of anyone that he had met….

I'm also taking this chance to meet him. I want to do this Don. I'm sorry if my decision has hurt you in any way but I have to do this for me. I'm also going to be honest I don't know what's going to happen while I'm down there and I may meet someone. Four years is a long time to be so far apart….especially if I'm probably only going to be able to visit on Holidays. It wouldn't be fair to either of us."

Don put his head down hating it but knowing she was right. "Yeah, it's going to be hard getting over you. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder." Waverly laughed slightly.

"Don, you'll always be one of the most important people in my life…." Waverly trailed off as Don stepped closer to her.

"Okay so I know that we are breaking up _before_ we break up but I have to do one thing and we will work our way back to being best friends." Before Waverly could protest Don kissed her. It was soft and sweet, a goodbye kiss. "I'm not sorry for doing that, I had to just once, before some other guy got the chance. You're going to go down to Miami and kick ass in school. You're going to meet some guy and finally get the courage to bring him home and when you do I'm going to hate him on principle until he can prove to me that he can be everything I wish I could be for you."

Don grabbed her up in a tighter hug as she started to cry. Their friendship was far from perfect but they would eventually get to where they needed to be. He would be whatever she needed him to be; eventually he would get over her and move on but until then any guy that she brought home would have to do exactly what he said. Prove himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Finding Family Finding Love

Chapter Three

Don left quickly after their conversation on the balcony. Waverly wasn't sure if Don realized or not but he had just given her, her first _real _kiss. It sucked that it wasn't what it could have been and that it was a goodbye kiss more than anything, but it would help her move on in the end she knew. She sat out on the balcony for a little while longer thinking on her situation: School, meeting her father, moving and of course Don. She knew in her heart that Don would always be important to her no matter who she dated, but she could safely say she was well on her way to getting over him. First crushes and first love were always the ones that stuck with you for the rest of your life for one reason or another.

Sighing Waverly decided that it was time to go to bed. The next couple of days were going to be hectic and she felt that she would probably be heading down to Miami a little sooner than she was originally. She knew that she wanted to meet her father before she officially started school and if she went early she would have a little time to do that. Getting up she headed back inside and walked to her room, stubbing her toe on a box as she went. ~Tomorrow will be a better day and I'll talk to mom about maybe leaving earlier than planned. ~ She thought before closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep for the night.

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The next morning when Waverly finally woke up she went into the kitchen to find her mother, Linda, and surprisingly Mac sitting at the table.

"Mac, what are you doing here? Not that I don't want you here but shouldn't you be working? It's a weekday right?" Waverly asked while looking out the corner of her eye at the calendar.

Mac smiled with a chuckle before answering, "Yes, it's a weekday but I have some time to use. I figured it would give us all a chance to talk and figure out what exactly we are going to be doing."

"Okay sounds good to me. Have you guys already eaten?" Waverly asked going to the cabinet, pausing she waited for an answer.

"Yes honey we already ate. Someone slept through breakfast." Linda teased.

Waverly rolled her eyes grabbing a bowl and cereal out of the cabinet. Grabbing the milk she brought all three items to the table so they could talk.

"Honey I just want you to know how extremely proud I am of you. I'm so proud that you decided to go back to school, when I know it's so hard if you don't go right after high school you lose that drive sometimes but you never did. I also know that I don't tell you that often enough." Linda rambled. Waverly raised her eyebrows.

"Thank you, Mom. You need to breathe please." Waverly replied taking a bite of cereal while Mac chuckled. Linda rolled her eyes, took a breath and continued.

"I'm proud of you for going to school for something you love, not just for the sake of getting a degree of some kind. I'm also really proud of you wanting to get to know your father, even though it's really hard taking that step."

"Mom, I love you. I'm going to really miss you when I go but I have faith that everything will work out in the end. I'll only be a phone call away. Promise you that. I'm not going to promise to call you every night though, because I know me, I'll forget and you will then promptly freak out. You'll call Mac who will then call me and tell me to call you so you'll calm down." It was Waverly's' turn to take a breath. "Also I'm thinking about leaving earlier than originally planned. Most of my stuff has already been shipped and I have an open ticket so I was thinking either later tonight or tomorrow morning to go on out there and try to settle in. What do you think?"

At first there was just silence from her mother and a smirk from Mac. Waverly just gave Mac a look like 'yeah, yeah you already knew this was going to happen.' Linda looked at Waverly with a sad smile, "Well honey when you decide to do something you definitely don't, do it in halves do you."

"I know I'm sorry mom. I just know I'll keep fretting about everything and I'll overthink it. Then once I overthink it I'll start to freak out. I barely have anything left to pack. I've been as sneaky as possible," everyone laughed at that statement, they all knew that Waverly wasn't that sneaky, "all I basically have is a carry-on bag and some clothes left."

"I know you're ready for this baby. I'm happy for you and don't want you to go because you my baby but I know you need to, and that I have to let you go. I'll miss you." Linda replied while grabbing her for a hug.

"You won't need to worry about the apartment for a while it's all paid for. The front desk of the building should have your keys. Just so you are aware there are not any bars on the windows." Mac replied with a smile as Waverly rolled her eyes. She let go of her mother and gave Mac a hug as well.

"Thanks Mac. I would have been okay with the bars." She gave him a squeeze, and whispered, "Love you, Dad."

Mac was a bit startled since Waverly had never called him that before. He wasn't sure how to take it. He himself felt a little choked up with emotion. Waverly had a smile on her face as she pulled back with a few tears in her eyes. "It's true I may be going to meet my real father but you're my father too. You've been my father for three years even when you weren't really trying to be. I love you for that."

"I love you too, W. I know I don't tell you that too much."

"That's okay Mac. We don't discuss emotions to much in this family." She replied laughing, "I know you love me because of everything you do for me. Enough with the heavy though."

"We all know that you'll probably leave tonight, so maybe you should drag Mac to the lab so you can say bye to everyone." Linda replied giving Mac a look.

"Okay that might be a good idea since no one knows I'm leaving earlier. They all expect I'm leaving next week. I don't want to leave without saying good-bye if I can help it."

With that Waverly went to her room to get ready to leave. A few hours later she was at the lab saying good-bye to everyone that was there and leaving notes in Mac office for the ones that weren't. She would also be calling everyone she didn't see as well. While everyone was sad to see her go they were glad she had the opportunity to go and do something different and broaden her life and learn new things.

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Once they left the lab Waverly wanted to stop by the police precinct to say bye to Don in person. Mac agreed to take her but he said he would be staying outside. Waverly rolled her eyes at him and agreed.

Waverly didn't usually visit Don in the precinct but she felt she needed to; she wouldn't forgive herself for seeing everyone else and not Don. Walking in she stopped at the front desk to see if he was in fact there. Once she had her pass she made her way through all the desks to Don's. Once she got closer to his desk, Don looked up, seeing her he smiled.

"Hey W, what are you doing here?" He asked

"Well, I wanted to talk to you. I just came from the lab and got to talk to everyone. I had some news that I wanted to tell in person. It wouldn't be fair over the phone or through a letter." She gave him a small smile in return. He hesitated for a moment, dread filling him.

"Okay what's up?" Waverly sighed before sitting down.

"Well I've decided to leave for Miami tonight. I've got all my things already down there so I just need to take myself down there. I'm already overthinking everything so I'm jumping feet first for once. I wanted to tell you myself."

"This doesn't have to do with….." Don started to ask inwardly panicking, thinking he had driven her to leave earlier.

"No." Waverly interrupted, "It doesn't have anything to do with that. It's something I thought about a lot last night and was also thinking before then. I just couldn't leave without talking to you. Like I've said you're my best friend. You always will be. This has nothing to do with what happened between us last night." She said softly. "It's something I feel I need to do."

Don let out a breath slowly. He knew this day was coming, ever since Mac made the announcement, but he didn't think it would be here as quick as it did. "I know. I'm glad that it's not because I'm an ass. I'm going to miss you W. If you need me for anything I'm just a call away. Okay?" He stood up and grabbed her in a friendly hug. "If you need anything…."

"Thanks Don. That means a lot. I do love you, you know." Don didn't reply right away instead he just hugged her harder.

As she let go of him, smiling she said, "I guess this is good-bye, for now, anyway. I'll come visit when I can."

Don watched her walk away, whispering to himself, "I love you too, W."

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By the time Mac and Waverly made it back to the apartment it was late afternoon. Waverly hurried inside and said hi to her mom before heading straight to her room.

"What's up with her?" Linda asked looking at Mac for answers.

"She wanted to say bye to Don." Was his only reply, "She's okay just slightly sad about leaving but she wants this, Linda."

"Oh, I know she does. My baby's growing up and flying from the nest. I'm going to miss her so much."

"We both will."

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Once in her room Waverly grabbed her phone from her back pocket and called the few people she had been unable to see. After talking with all of them she called her friend Ashlee to see if she was ready to leave as well. They had already talked before about leaving earlier but it never hurt to double check. She started packing up the last of her belongings as the phone was ringing.

"Hello?" Ashlee said picking up

"Hey it's Waverly. I was just seeing if you were almost ready to go? I'm still packing some of my stuff but I'm almost done."

"Yeah I'm almost done as well; I'm so excited for this." Ashlee replied with a squeal of excitement.

"I'm excited too. I just got back from saying bye to everyone at the lab. I also stopped by the precinct to say good-bye to Don."

"Oh…" Ashlee said softly, being Waverly's best friend, she knew how Waverly had felt about Don and how hard it actually was for her to say good-bye. "How did it go?"

"Surprisingly well, he thought at first I was leaving because of what happened last night. I had to reassure him it wasn't. I can see how he would think that though." Waverly said grabbing her laptop and putting it in the carrying case.

"I'm glad it went well. I want to finish this conversation later though. I want to finish packing and spend a little time with my mom before we all head out. Can we talk more on the plane?" Ashlee asked feeling a little bad that she was not staying on the phone for Waverly.

"No, that's perfectly fine. We can talk more later. I'll be able to give all the details then. Love ya, Ash. See you in a bit."

After hanging up Waverly finished the rest of her packing and took them out to the living room.

About two hours later four people were standing near the airport terminal going to Miami.

"I'm going to miss you, mom. I'll call maybe possibly write. Remember I'm not going to call everyday but I'll call often." Waverly said smiling, hugging her mom.

"I feel better that your father is down there. Yes, he doesn't know about you yet, but once he does, you'll never get rid of him." Linda hugged her daughter fiercely before letting her go.

Mac came and gave Waverly a hug. Usually Waverly was the one to give hugs first, but today was special.

"You be careful down there. Call when you can." Mac said just as the announcement for their flight came over the PA system.

"I will Mac, you know me. I'm overly cautious most of the time." Waverly gave him another hug and smiled. "I'll miss you."

"You too," he said as he handed Waverly her carry-on bags.

"Okay we should go, they just called us." Waverly said turning back to her mom.

"Okay honey; give me one more hug and another kiss, and get going. Don't want you to miss your flight. I'll miss you so much." Linda said giving her a kiss and a bone crushing hug once more. Waverly grabbed her bags once her mother let her go, and started walking with Ashlee.

They were giving their tickets to the flight attendant when they heard Linda yell, "Call often!"

"I will, love you mom." Waverly yelled back before boarding the plane.

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About 3 hours later

Waverly shook Ashlee lightly to wake her up. After boarding the plane they had talked about Don and everything that happened before Ashlee promptly fell asleep.

"Ash, we're getting ready to land." Waverly said shaking lightly again. She grabbed her arm tightly suddenly while holding onto her seat with the other. She wasn't a fan of flying.

"WH…what?" Ashlee asked while rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"I said we're landing dammit." Waverly replied shortly grabbing the other armrest with her now free hand. Ashlee smiled.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine; you know how I feel about flying. I hate take off, but I absolutely despise landing."

"I know, come on let's get our stuff." Ashlee said as Waverly began looking around realizing that everyone else was standing and grabbing bags as well.

After grabbing their bags they made their way off of the plane, every once in a while Waverly could feel a slight tug on her belt loop. Looking back at Ashlee she realized that she must have grabbed a belt loop to make sure they didn't get separated.

A little bit late both girls were standing at baggage claim waiting for their luggage on the carousel. Waverly soon saw her bag coming towards her; she also saw that it also had a bright pink bow attached to it. She looked at Ashlee, who shrugged.

"What? You found it easily enough didn't you?" She asked, hand on her hip her eyebrows meeting her hairline.

Rolling her eyes Waverly replied, "Yeah I did, smartass."

Waverly grabbed her bag trying to step aside for other people but barely managing to keep from knocking some little old lady over. The girls made their way outside, as they stepped outside they were hit by the humidity.

"Shesh, it's humid here." Ashlee said the moment the stepped outside.

"What did you expect? It's Florida plus New York is hot during the summer. I figured you'd be used to heat by now. It's beautiful here though. I'll have to brush up on my Spanish; I haven't used it in a long time." Waverly replied looking for an available taxi.

"I know I never was too good at Spanish. I would have failed the class if it wasn't for you. I just hope we can get a cab. I want to lie on a mattress." Ashlee replied sticking close to Waverly. Both girls were nervous being in a new place.

"I see one now, come on. You want to lay on a mattress with no bedding? That sounds comfortable." Waverly replied walking toward the cab she had spotted. They made it to the cab before anyone could steal it from them. "I want to get a few things unpacked. I'm hoping tomorrow to get most of the unpacking done. Then I want to work up the nerve to find my dad all before classes start. Yay!"

As they got into the cab Ashlee gave her a look, "Good God, you want everything so quickly."

"Where can I take you ladies?" The Cabby interrupted.

Waverly reached into her back pocket and grabbed the paper Mac had wrote the address on and gave the cabby the address. "Okay, shouldn't be a long drive. Willow apartments aren't too far from here.

After the bags were put in the trunk, the cabby knew their destination, the girls began talking. Every once in a while the girls would ask the cabby a question. After that it was random conversations. Soon they were pulling up to the Willow apartment complex.

As the girls got out of the car the cabby was already pulling their luggage out of the trunk.

"Thanks again." Waverly said giving the driver the money. "Keep the change."

"Thank you, Senorita." He replied with a smile getting back into his cab.

Both girls grabbed their bags and headed into the building. Waverly looked around as they walked. The building and surrounding buildings were beautiful.

"Jeez…Mac did really good for us." Ashlee said as she walked toward the front desk.

"Yeah," Waverly breathed out, "I'll have to thank Mac again. He said there wouldn't be bars on the windows. He didn't lie."

"Of course you would expect bars on the windows." Ashlee rolled her eyes.

"What so he's a little over protective." Waverly replied shrugging. "Don't blame him though. I mean we lived in New York. Hello…crime central."

Reaching the front desk Waverly got the apartment keys and headed with Ashlee to the elevator. "What's the apartment number?"

"Ummm…" Looking at the paper "its number 25, so second floor?" Waverly replied. "Let's head on up. I don't think we have to do anything else."

They reached the apartment letting themselves in; surprisingly their boxes were neatly stacked along one of the walls.

"Well at least we won't have to search too long for our bedding stuff." Waverly said pointing to the boxes.

"That's a plus." Ashlee replied letting her bags drop to the floor, heading towards the boxes.

Waverly walked around the apartment. From the front door on your right was a small bedroom with a closet and a bathroom. On the left was a smaller hallway that held the stackable washer and dryer and at the end a half bath. Walking further down the main hallway it opened up into the living room which also included the kitchen in one big area, including two balconies. On the left of the living area right before the kitchen there was the master bedroom with a walk-in closet and a nice size bathroom. Waverly promptly threw her carry-on bag onto the bed in this room claiming it as her own. ~Mine~ she thought as she flopped down on the bed as well.

"Waverly?" She heard Ashlee call.

"I'm in my room." She yelled back grinning. Ashlee came in a few moments later, glaring at her slightly.

"You suck." All Waverly could do was laugh.

"Sorry I've always wanted the master bedroom. You snooze you lose." She replied laughing.

"Ha…Ha… Laugh it up. I found your bedding stuff." Ashlee replied walking out of the room shaking her head.

"Yay, I'm going to make my bed and call mom. Probably at the same time." Waverly said following behind her and grabbing the box Ashlee indicated.

About a half an hour later both girls had their beds made and Waverly had called her mother to let her know they made it safely. Waverly wasted no time finding her night clothes changing and went to bed. Ashlee wasn't far behind. They had a lot of work to do the next week or so before school began.


	4. Chapter 4

Finding Family Finding Love

Chapter Four

(A/N: Thank you to everyone that has reviewed and favorited this story and has patiently waited for the next update. Here we go…

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After a few busy days of unpacking and putting the apartment together the girls were officially moved to Miami; Waverly was going back and forth on the decision to meet her father.

~I know that I said I was going to find Horatio first thing when I got down here but now that I'm here it seems that, that keeps getting pushed further and further back. There's so much to do. ~

Waverly had been lying in bed for a few moments before getting up so she could collect her thoughts. Sighing she got up and looked out of her window, nodding to herself she walked out of her room and turned to the right into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water and a list off of the refrigerator, she sat at the kitchen bar. She then realized how quiet the apartment was, she couldn't hear Ashlee anywhere, getting up she walked down the hall to Ashlee's room finding it empty , she searched the apartment and was beginning to worry about her friend, when she happened to look at the refrigerator once more. There was a note from Ashlee.

Wave,

Don't freak out. I went ahead to Miami U to get registered. I'll find out what you need.

Ash

P.S. You freaked out didn't you? You did! I knew you would.

Waverly rolled her eyes at her friend, even if she was correct. She sat back down at the kitchen bar and looked at her list once more.

*Register for classes, living off campus

*Set up finances- (check)

*Unpack apartment (check)

*Meet Horatio

Waverly was glad that they had been able to get two of the four most important things that needed done. Setting up a new bank account down in Miami was more difficult than it should have been. It was like on that particular day nobody wanted to cooperate with Waverly. She had been trying to transfer all of the funds but they were telling her she had to be a permanent resident. Having paperwork saying she had a permanent address here in Miami didn't seem to help at first. She had even gone so far as to get her driver's license switched over. That she wasn't going to tell her mom about yet. She still had her New York one though. She finally had to demand to talk to the bank manager before anything was accomplished but after a few hours of explaining why she wanted to transfer all her money from New York to Miami everything was done. The apartment itself wasn't huge so it didn't take much to get everything unpacked, especially with it being two of us doing the unpacking.

The fourth item: Meeting Horatio was a little more intimidating. Waverly was once again overthinking everything. ~What if I meet him and he decides that he doesn't want anything to do with me or the responsibility of a grown daughter. I just hope that I didn't come down here for nothing except college. I really hope that Horatio is in fact as great of a man as my mother says he is. ~ sighing mentally Waverly kept thinking ~ I know that even if I'm scared that I will force myself to find my father I will not, _NOT_, chicken out. I will not run away from something that could be the best thing that has ever happened to me in a long time. I wondered at the time if the reason mom kept her knowledge of Horatio from me was because I had never asked about him. Yes, I was curious but I never felt the need to bring it up. It never really bothered me until mom started dating Mac. They've been together for three years and were friends for two before that, so I'm hoping that he will pop the question soon. See now I'm even rambling in my head. ~

Waverly heard her cell ringing, quickly getting up, she ran to her room where she left it. She reached it just as the call was missed. It was her mother. She quickly called her back.

"Hello?" Linda answered

"Mom, hey sorry I missed you call I was daydreaming slash thinking." Waverly replied.

"That's okay sweetie, I didn't mean to bother you. I forgot that you called me last night. I just wanted to say hi and that I miss you. I never realized how quiet the apartment is without you here. It's weird."

"Ha, ha mom I didn't make that much noise anyway. There's no way the apartment is quiet its New York, you hear traffic 24 hours a day pretty much."

At that she heard the front door open and Ashlee appeared a few moments later with papers and what looked like magazines under her arm.

"Hey mom can I call you back? Ashlee just got back from the University." Waverly asked taking the papers that Ashlee was now holding out to her.

"Okay honey I love you."

"Love you too mom."

Ashlee has been my best friend for years, I trust her most out of all my friends. I would trust this girl with my life. I hope that she would feel the same way. She has pretty blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was born in London but moved to America with her mother when she was thirteen, she's kept the English accent even though I'm not sure how.

"Waverly? Hey Wave?" Waverly was brought out of her thoughts by Ashlee waving her hand in front of her face. "Hey welcome back. How was space?"

"Hardy, har, har Ash, I was lost in thought not space. So what's all this?"

"Well, all the paperwork is for registration and the magazines are both for school and our reading pleasure. I got all registered and even talked to a few teachers both mine and what should be your or may, anyway. Of course that's not the only thing I was able to accomplish." Ashlee replied with a proud smile on her face.

"What else did you accomplish?" Waverly asked almost afraid as to what she would find out, one never knew with Ashlee.

"Well, number one don't get mad…I'm only thinking of you and helping you out…" she paused, " I believe that I found out where your fath…. Horatio works…I know that you wanted to find him but when I was checking out some of the forensics classes one of the teachers mentioned that Horatio Caine or one of his CSI's had been in just last term giving a lecture. So I pounced on the opportunity. I couldn't pass it up. I asked him if we were allowed to know which crime lab he worked at. I didn't explain everything to him but I just said that someone I knew was looking for a job within the field of forensics and that maybe that person could put in their application there or talk to the person in charge to see if they were even hiring at the moment. In the end I think he just wanted me to go away so he gave me this. "

Waverly looked at Ashlee's hand in surprise, there was a piece of paper folder up neatly. Taking it from her I unfolded it, there was an address. "Is this his work address?" She asked looking up at her with big eyes.

"Yeah…I know how much you wanted to find hi...ooohhhffff!" Waverly cut her off by giving her the most energetic bear hug she possibly could.

"Ashlee you are the best friend that a girl could ask for. I don't know what I would do without you." Waverly said as she put the paper in her back pocket.

"Well, for one you would probably get laid more." Waverly looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"You asked what you could do without me. You could get laid more if I wasn't around." Ashlee replied setting the items she had grabbed out of the refrigerator while the two had been talking. She was starting to cook dinner.

"You are so weird sometimes, Ash. That's why we are such good friends, we balance each other out." Waverly replied as she started helping with dinner. "Ummm… what are we making?"

"Spaghetti you dork." Ashlee replied.

"So sorry, jeesh." Waverly laughed. "I just won't try and help next time."

"Whatever, you know you will." Ashlee replied not even looking at Waverly.

~ One thing I knew was that everything was starting to come together and tomorrow I would hopefully be meeting my father for the first time." Suddenly her nerves came back full force. ~ This will be a good thing…..~ Waverly thought smiling to herself slightly.

~…I think…. ~


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